No, Not That Peace

So, somehow or other, the countries most involved with and affected by the violence in Liberia - West African nations like Nigeria, Mali and Ghana - are responding to the crisis next door. Troops from those nations are on the way to Liberia, and have for the moment brought calm to the streets of Monrovia.

So naturally, it's time for an an anti-American swipe or two:

"Ever since the African peacekeepers landed this week, calm has blanketed the war-torn capital. Honking car horns and pattering feet have replaced the sounds of gunfire and mortars. Not a single shot has been fired at the peacekeepers.

For Liberians such as Colendo, it shows what could have happened had the international community acted faster, had U.S. troops been sent in weeks ago. Perhaps his eight friends who were killed when mortars rained down at Greystone, a U.S. compound turned refugee camp, might have lived, he said.

'We are so disappointed,' said Colendo, shaking his head. 'Unlike our West African brothers, America has abandoned us. Liberia is not like Somalia. They could get a warmer reception than the West Africans if they hit the ground.'"

Of course, as we learned from Somalia, the warm reception can quickly turn to warm lead, in nations with large, well-armed factions whose main interest is control, not achieving peace, justice and the rule of law.

How much coverage will that idea get in the local media?

Posted by Mitch at August 11, 2003 08:22 AM